Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community, in its first such assessment, has warned of a loss of America’s Arab allies.

The intelligence community said the Gulf Cooperation Council could be the first Arab allies to move away from the United States.

In a report to Congress, the 16-agency community cited widespread opposition to Washington’s rapproachment with Iran.

“Some of the transitioning governments are more skeptical than before the Arab Spring about cooperating with the United States,” the assessment said.

The assessment, submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Jan. 29, marked the first acknowledgement of an Arab shift away from Washington. Over the last few months, the administration of President Barack Obama has played down such warnings from Saudi Arabia, the leader of the GCC and Iran’s neighbor.

National Intelligence director James Clapper warned that Arab allies, resentful of Washington’s interference, could reduce security cooperation with the United States. Clapper said this could hamper counter-insurgency efforts to stop Al Qaida attacks from the Middle East.

“They are concerned about protecting sovereignty and resisting foreign
interference, which has the potential to hamper U.S. counter-terrorism and
other efforts to engage transitioning governments,” Clapper said.

“Additionally, the unhappiness of some Arab Gulf states with U.S. policies
on Iran, Syria and Egypt might lead these countries to reduce cooperation
with the United States on regional issues and act unilaterally in ways that
run counter to U.S. interests.”

Clapper said the threat of an Arab shift came amid an increasing
presence of Al Qaida in the Middle East, particularly Iraq, Lebanon and
Syria. He said Al Qaida was training thousands of foreigners to fight in
Syria, skills that could be employed to destabilize their native countries.

“It’s clear our collection capabilities are not as robust perhaps as
they were because they [Al Qaida] have generally gotten smarter about
[avoiding] how we go about our business and detect them,” Clapper said.

  Gulf Cooperation Council, Intelligence chief confirms Arab shift from U.S. over ‘policies on Iran, James Clapper, Senate Intelligence Committee, Syria and Egypt’